Littlejohn Law LLC - August 2019

Littlejohn Law LLC - August 2019

WWW.LITTLEJOHNLAWLLC.COM 740-314-4829

8/19

BUILD IT. PROTECT IT. PRESERVE IT.

A couple of months ago, a pizza delivery guy left his parking brake off, and it rolled back into my mother-in-law’s car. Since the pizza delivery guy was at fault, she got his insurance information and called his provider. They tried to make her go through her own insurance to pay for it, even though the damage wasn’t her fault! I also had a client who was hit by a drunk driver and needed to use the medical pay available to her through her plan. But her provider didn’t offer to pay any of her medical bills! Another client of mine got rear-ended, and his insurance company

GETTINGWHAT YOU PAID FOR

refused to pay for the damage because they said they couldn’t determine who was at fault. He was rear-ended! How could it be his fault?

IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

This month in history, Anne Frank wrote her last diary entry before her family was discovered by the Gestapo. Almost two decades later, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington DC. The passion of these individuals, and many others, to change the world into a place where everyone had basic human rights has done exactly that in many respects. But while their impact is evident, the world is still far from fair, and I’ve seen this evidenced time and time again in the auto insurance industry. All the complexity with auto insurance plans aside, when you pay for your plan every month, or every six months, or whenever your plan stipulates, you are purchasing a service. It’s a service that you may hope you don’t have to use, but one that you’re grateful for if you need it. And yet, in my experience, even when I’ve had clients that have every justification to use the insurance they’ve paid for, they’re scared to do so. Unfortunately, my clients are sometimes justified in their apprehension. This is because insurance companies so often neglect the best interests of their clients and, instead, look out only for their own bottom line. The tactics they use to avoid dispensing payment are something I abbreviate to “delay, deny, and defend.” They will delay giving you your coverage before denying that you ever needed it, and then defend their decision to deny you coverage in court. It’s frankly wrong that these tactics are so prevalent.

Most providers don’t budge until their customers say the magic words: “I’m going to call a lawyer.” That at least starts the but calling a lawyer to get what you pay for should not be the norm. It’s part of my job to represent my clients in this situation, but it shouldn’t have to be. Insurance companies should pay for their customers’ vehicle repairs and medical expenses if that is a process of getting my clients their coverage,

stipulation of their plan. Everyone has a right to get what they paid for,

and no one should have to go into financial ruin because their provider doesn’t give their customers what they’re owed.

–Edward Littlejohn

WWW.LITTLEJOHNLAWLLC.COM | 1

WHAT’S NE Wow! It’s hard to believe there are only a few more days left of summer. Looking back, this summer has been full of growth and opportunities. Jeff and Ally traveled to Chicago for a wedding. I tried to get Ally to send me some pics of Jeff on the dance floor, but she’s keeping them for her collection. The team and I completed an ESCAPE ROOM. It was an extremely fun time and great opportunity for us to work together and bond outside of the office. Not only did we have a great time, but we set the weekly record! Kyzlee’s been enjoying corn and spending time outside. This summer, we took Kyzlee to the Fitzsimmons Family Dog Park. She loved chasing Courage around in the open space. Right now, Kyzlee’s getting ready for her first summer vacation at the beach.

RING, RING — IT’S A ROBOT

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM PHONE SCAMS AND ROBOCALLS

PUT UP SOME DETERRENTS.

Two of the most common scams are phone scams and robocalls. These calls are incredibly annoying and can trick you out of valuable information if you’re not careful. While it might seem like these scams are inescapable, there are some precautions you can take to avoid their traps.

You can even go a step further and block the calls. Many phone service providers offer call-blocking options, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can sign up for this service in-store or on your service provider’s website. Each service costs about $4 per month. There are also many call-blocking apps available on Android and Apple devices, but if you subscribe to a blocking service through your phone provider, these apps are unnecessary. Finally, you can sign up for the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Call” program (DoNotCall.gov). While the Do Not Call program can help cut back on calls, this list is largely ignored by scammers. If you’re getting a ridiculous number of robocalls every day, signing up can offer you some brief respite. Thankfully, Congress is already attempting to fix this problem by making it harder for scammers to call you. But until they are able to pass tough, effective legislation, it is up to us as consumers to remain vigilant and do what we can to keep our personal and financial >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

littlejohnlawllc.com

Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker